Privacy in Adolescence

Abstract

Late adolescence represents an important life stage where children are becoming more independent and autonomous from their parents but are not quite old enough to go out on their own. Teenagers are also avid users of mobile devices and social media and actively use their smartphones to connect with friends and share their lives. Much of the research looking at teen technology use has employed a risk-centric approach; in other words, it takes the view that teens are putting themselves at risk by sharing personal information online, so the privacy-oriented solutions typically involve parental monitoring or technology restrictions. In this chapter, we review the research on teens, technology use, and privacy and discuss why such risk-centric models may be problematic to teens’ maturation. Instead, we argue that—much like it was for prior generations—risk-taking is a learning process critical to becoming a young adult and that teens do think about their privacy online, albeit in different ways than their adult counterparts. We offer design heuristics for developing tools for teens that allow for appropriate levels of risk-taking while protecting their privacy and ensuring their safety.

Creative beyond TikToks: Investigating Adolescents' Social Privacy Management on TikTok

“…Following this logic, numerous guides for parents emphasize the importance of modifying privacy settings and monitoring their children's behavior (e.g., [37]). However, there has also been a pushback to this alarmist perspective by scholars who suggest that adolescents' online privacy should be addressed based on empirical research rather than paternal instinct [83].…”

Sanctity of Digital Privacy and Personal Data during COVID-19: Are Youths Enough Digitally Literate to Deal with it?

“…They are defined both as innocents in need of protection, and as a competent, media-wise generation" (p. 4). As this age group just enters into adulthood, they are not quite old enough to use the internet on their own (Wisniewski et al, 2022). One of the main reasons for that could be the lack of a proper education system in India to teach them how to drive in the digital media and how to perform in this digital world informedly (Jones et al, 2018).…”

The 5Ds of privacy literacy: a framework for privacy education

“…Many parents feel that raising children today is harder due to technology (Auxier et al , 2020), and they crave guidance about how to navigate issues related to technology and family life (Clark, 2014; Livingstone and Blum-Ross, 2020). Perhaps in part driven by a sense of uncertainty, parents often embrace online safety-driven approaches to regulating technology, focusing on minimizing children’s exposure to risk and monitoring their online behavior (Fisk, 2016; Wisniewski et al , 2022). Thus, disentangling privacy from online safety will also require changing the mindset of parents.…”

“…While adults and children may viscerally respond to the importance of safety, online safety efforts “have been critiqued for perpetuating conservative, risk averse practices that limit opportunities for digital learning and communication” (Pangrazio and Cardozo Gaibisso, 2020, p. 50). Online safety can even become a justification for adults and institutions to monitor and restrict children’s digital activities, infringing children’s privacy in the name of safety (Fisk, 2016; Wisniewski et al , 2022). If privacy lessons are to help children understand how information flows shape society, as reflected in the 5Ds of privacy literacy, they should be embedded in topics other than safety.…”